Whitecaps MLS news - Page 9

Vancity · #**161** Posted **Mar 21, 2009, 7:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denscity

Global noon news/sports is reporting 3000 out of 5000 deposits have already been taken in as of 12:25pm. Not bad for less than 2.5 hours of sales.

wow. that's not bad. we'll sell out for sure

nice, very nice.

i wonder if the whitecaps will tinker with their uniforms a bit. keep the name, but change the uniforms a little? i like to keep the name "whitecaps", but i also like our logo to be a bit aggressive, a bit more intimidating, a bit more serious looking.

Vancity · #**162** Posted **Mar 21, 2009, 7:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansky

agree, more asians enjoy soccer, but what level is north american soccer, i hope it's worth a watch.

i watched almost every game of the griz, they were hopeless and loserish, eventually i gave up.

vansky - i know what you mean. i was a huge basketball fan, but ever since watching and appreciating the sport of hockey - well, i've become a fan of both sports. i was sad to see the grizzlies go, always hoping that the incompetent stu jackson would do something to improve the grizz - never happened, obviously, and that's partially why they left. the market for basketball, i personally think, is here in this town. the support would be there. but even toronto could not put up with that type of losing. no fan should (well, maybe except for the clips, they are hopeless). i watch almost every game as well, and cheered for them as long as they were here....maybe one day down down down the road, we'll get another expansion franchise, and a more competent, qualified GM. i hope stu jackson isn't ever hired again by any NBA team. no city, or no team should have to go through such stupid, ridiculous decision making by a GM, such as that of Stu Jackson. his reputation as a GM tarnished forever. good riddance.

on the other hand, i'd welcome the NCAA to town. can't imagine what the atmosphere would be like for march madness. ah, one can only dream.

vansky · #**163** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 2:26 AM**

ha, vancity, you probably had more hopes in the griz than I did. I didn't even care if the team was around or not. I gave up the griz mainly because they were too hopeless. If anyone remembers how hopeless was the canucks when the grizzlies was around,then you know what I mean. I started to watch the nucks after they went to fight the avs during that playoff year. 4-0, but there was so much hope inside this team. I hope they put up a strong team for mls, or else there's no pt to watch for people like me. In terms of marketing, I dont know too much about asian and soccer, one thing is that none of my asian friends watch any soccer, but all of them are more or less into hockey.

A north american soccer league just doesn't sound nvery comfortable to me, it feels like europeans playing basketball ( or even worse, asian countries playing basketball ) hahaha...no offense. but it's a great addition to entertainment in this city. Not only would the asian community be mroe devoted, probably the recent european immigrants will too.

agrant · #**164** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 5:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansky

A north american soccer league just doesn't sound nvery comfortable to me, it feels like europeans playing basketball ( or even worse, asian countries playing basketball ) hahaha...no offense. but it's a great addition to entertainment in this city. Not only would the asian community be mroe devoted, probably the recent european immigrants will too.

I take it you aren't really in the soccer loop. Well, it should feel very comfortable to enough people to support the team. I agree, it is a great thing for the city. But I don't understand the notion that it's only liked by certain ethnic groups here. I've played the game for 25 years in Vancouver and I know that idea is bs.

crazyjoeda · #**165** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 6:00 AM**

I think the MLS will do really well here. I went to Grizzlies games when I was a kid and we had a team. The Vancouver market will only support a team if it can win at least half the time. Fans turn on the Canucks if they don't win and in the 90's we came close to losing the NHL.

That said I think that MLS will do well in Vancouver; I know a lot of people here love watching soccer. Im sure that Vancouver's MLS games will be at least as popular if not more popular than BC Lions games.

vansky · #**166** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 6:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by agrant

I take it you aren't really in the soccer loop. Well, it should feel very comfortable to enough people to support the team. I agree, it is a great thing for the city. But I don't understand the notion that it's only liked by certain ethnic groups here. I've played the game for 25 years in Vancouver and I know that idea is bs.

soccer is hot in asia and europe, but not so much in na, that's why i said asians and europeans like it more. i didn't say it's only liked by certain ethnicities, but likely to be liked more by ....

Vancity · #**167** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 6:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansky

ha, vancity, you probably had more hopes in the griz than I did. I didn't even care if the team was around or not. I gave up the griz mainly because they were too hopeless. If anyone remembers how hopeless was the canucks when the grizzlies was around,then you know what I mean. I started to watch the nucks after they went to fight the avs during that playoff year. 4-0, but there was so much hope inside this team. I hope they put up a strong team for mls, or else there's no pt to watch for people like me. In terms of marketing, I dont know too much about asian and soccer, one thing is that none of my asian friends watch any soccer, but all of them are more or less into hockey.

A north american soccer league just doesn't sound nvery comfortable to me, it feels like europeans playing basketball ( or even worse, asian countries playing basketball ) hahaha...no offense. but it's a great addition to entertainment in this city. Not only would the asian community be mroe devoted, probably the recent european immigrants will too.

i was a huge supporter of the grizz. i had hopes that they would eventually turn things around, to of course, my frustration, they did not. oh well. the NBA is gone here in the lower mainland, but i'm hoping too that the MLS Whitecaps do well and at the very least compete in games. i'm hopeful that this city is going to be HUGE supporters of the 'caps. in fact, i'd even dare say that the whitecaps, given 2-4 years (if the team is managed well, and they become more and more competitive each passing year), they might be the city's 2nd team. The NHL and the MLS are the best leagues here in North America - so I can see people getting excited about that.

yes, yes, the soccer of MLS is not at the caliber of the European leagues, but then again, nothing can or ever will compare to the leagues in Europe. Soccer (or football as they call it) in Europe is what hockey is to Canadians. King. nothing will come close.

Vancity · #**168** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 7:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

I think the MLS will do really well here. I went to Grizzlies games when I was a kid and we had a team. The Vancouver market will only support a team if it can win at least half the time. Fans turn on the Canucks if they don't win and in the 90's we came close to losing the NHL.

That said I think that MLS will do well in Vancouver; I know a lot of people here love watching soccer. Im sure that Vancouver's MLS games will be at least as popular if not more popular than BC Lions games.

i couldn't have agreed with you more. the vancouver market will only support a team that will win. it's a tough market. the NBA and the grizz...well, they didn't...sorry, couldn't, even win half their games. in 6 years of pathetic, sorry basketball, i think the grizzlies only managed to have 1 season where they supassed 20 games. does my memory serve me correct? or have they never won more than 20 games in a season while they were here?

i wonder if the NLL ravens are going to come back to this city? lacrosse is another sport, i think, this city would support as well.

agrant · #**169** Posted **Mar 22, 2009, 8:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansky

soccer is hot in asia and europe, but not so much in na, that's why i said asians and europeans like it more. i didn't say it's only liked by certain ethnicities, but likely to be liked more by ....

Soccer is hot in Vancouver, it always has been. Problem is that we've never had a decent league to put a team in. If we were to have the same calibre teams/talent, and same system as the EPL (English Premier League btw) for instance, I can guarantee you that people all over NA would take to it like a duck to water. MLS is comparable to English Div 1 - that's two levels below Premier btw. It's not the same. Teams in the lower divisions get about the same number of fans to their games as MLS teams do. Thousands of people play and follow it here already. The added people from Asia and "recent" immigrants you refer to aren't a magic bullet that we have to have, but they certainly won't hurt.

Denscity · #**170** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 7:28 PM**

CBC sports in Vancouver has just reported that all 5000 chances to put a deposit on season tickets have now been sold out!! Gone in 48 hours!

Kodii · #**171** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 7:31 PM**

Yup!

Quote:

Whitecaps’ first wave of MLS tickets sold out

The Vancouver Whitecaps announced today that the first block of 5,000 season-ticket deposits are sold out for the team’s inaugural 2011 season in Major League Soccer.

"The response we have received from the community has been phenomenal," Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said in a statement of the $50 deposits. "We sold 5,000 deposits in less than 48 hours and our season tickets for the upcoming season continue to sell at an unprecedented pace."

Currently, the only way to immediately secure a season ticket for 2011 is through 2009 Whitecaps ticket packages. Whitecaps ticket pack holders are automatically placed at the front of the line for seats in 2011, and do not need to pay the $50 deposit.

Alternatively, fans can place their name on a Vancouver MLS 2011 wait-list by visiting vancouverMLS2011.com. When a second phase of deposit spots are opened, wait-listed supporters will be contacted to put down their deposits before the general public.

Only 16,500 season tickets will be made available for Vancouver's inaugural season in MLS.

Last Wednesday, Vancouver was awarded the 17th franchise in MLS. The next night, the Seattle Sounders — an age-old rival of the Whitecaps — played their first game in the MLS.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Source: The Vancouver Sun -- http://www.vancouversun.com/Whitecaps+first+wave+tickets+sold/1419346/story.html

Vancity · #**172** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kodii

Yup!

Source: The Vancouver Sun -- http://www.vancouversun.com/Whitecaps+first+wave+tickets+sold/1419346/story.html

that is impressive! so when is the next wave of tickets going to be on sale? season tickets are capped at 16,500. toronto fc have theirs capped at 16,000 with a waiting list of 14,000. i thought i had read that wrong. waiting list of 14,000. wow.

MLS is going to be a hit here in this town. WOOHOO! =D

twoNeurons · #**173** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 9:06 PM**

Not to be a pessimist, but they sold out BC Place a few times when they were in the NASL. Attendance petered out after a few years.

Of course, these times are different, but still, don't overestimate the "hype" impact in Vancouver.

People here tend to hop on whatever bandwagon seems the most popular.

WarrenC12 · #**174** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 9:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Not to be a pessimist, but they sold out BC Place a few times when they were in the NASL. Attendance petered out after a few years.

Of course, these times are different, but still, don't overestimate the "hype" impact in Vancouver.

People here tend to hop on whatever bandwagon seems the most popular.

I think there will be some hype for a few years, but it may die down after that. It would be good timing if there's a new soccer stadium on the water by 2013-2014 though.

SFUVancouver · #**175** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 10:25 PM**

I think when the hype dies down the team will live and die by its marketing and the average ticket price.

If they can keep the price low and entrech the idea that going to see soccer once or twice a year is part of life in Vancouver then the team should be able to pull in large numbers of casual fans and tourists and that will help keep the stands full.

Here's something I don't know, when and how long is the MSL season?

LeftCoaster · #**176** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 11:49 PM**

It just started this week I believe and runs through summer to November. Pretty ideal schedule to pick up bored hockey fans like myself.

DKaz · #**177** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 12:21 AM**

Will they allow all 58,000 seats to be filled if the demand is there?

mr.x · #**178** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 12:49 AM**

^ i don't see any reason why they wouldn't allow all seats to be filled if there was enough demand.

Spork · #**179** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 1:17 AM**

I think that having them play downtown will be a huge draw. The reason that I don't go to games is that I don't drive and don't want to transfer in order to get to Swangard.

Metro-One · #**180** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 1:24 AM**

Wow, you do know that Swangard is about a 5 to 10 minute walk at the most from patterson skytrain station right? There are many destinations downtown that are much farther than that from skytrain that many people walk to (such as English Bay, Stanley Park, Denmen, etc..) I guess some people really are afraid of walking! Sorry to be so silly, i just find that a strange excuse for somewhere that is near two train stations.